Named the "Best Blog" by Parent & Child Magazine, this popular mom blog chronicles the wonderful mundaneness of a Philadelphia stay-at-home mom's life with four small children including twins in episodic form. Recurrent topics include adoption, multiples, Fifth Disease, Crohn's Disease and pregnancy, and academia.

June 8, 2011

Living Positively in the Aftermath of an Archaeological Dig

Over the weekend, my seven year-old twins came across a strange and suspicious object partially buried in the middle of our yard. The mysterious object was round, black, and either part of a UFO spaceship or an ancient Egyptian artifact. So they did what first grade boys do in such moments of exhilarating discovery: they dug the object up.

The archaeological dig proved to be wildly successful. My sons did not find any evidence of ancient civilizations buried in our lawn, but they did find a piece of PVC pipe, which they pulled on until it broke.

Only my kids would dig up their home's sprinkler system.....and maybe yours :)

I'm not going to lie: upon discovering what my boys had done, I curled up into a tight ball in the middle of my yard and cried for a good ten minutes. And then I started to laugh.

My family's most recent adventure has reminded me of lots of things, the most important of which is that happiness is a choice. I am far from the paradigmatic parent, but one thing that having lots of young kids has taught me is that living positively is a conscious act. Finding humor in situations and circumstances that should not be at all funny is both my primary coping strategy and life's guiding principle. If I can instill in my children one thing, I hope to teach them the role of laughter in living positively.

In a couple of days, I'll be attending the Conversations with Coca-Cola event in Atlanta, where I'll be meeting with some of the top leadership at Coca-Cola. I feel honored to have received this invitation and am super excited for the event. Since I'll be representing you--mothers of the world--what questions do you have for them? What have you always wanted to know about Coca-Cola (the product and/or the company)?

I promise I'll take lots of pictures.

Disclosure: This is a paid post by BlogHer. Coca-Cola will be paying for my travel, lodging, and activities while in Atlanta.

I'm guessing you'll get to go to the coke museum while you're there. It's awesome, but I'll warn you to beware of the international flavored coke-tasting room. Most are yummy, a few will make you gag. :)

I'm not a 'Mom', but I'd simply like to know how it came to be that Coca-Cola contacted you to participate. Are you in some 'club', or a member of some Coca-Cola related activity? Enjoy your convention, and above all, BE SAFE...your family needs you!

Love the cry/laugh strategy. I am a laugher in general.......and am working on gaining the skill of laughing in such archeological digs. I think my boys are younger versions of your and I hope to remember this in 4 years.

mmmm coke is the thing that gets me through my two active lovely boys. Why does McDonalds Coke taste better than any other Coke around??thats an ultimate treat..a styrofoam cup.. intended for sweet tea... i add the perfect amount of ice and coke.. and mmmm.. sip away

had such fun at the Coca-Cola Museum. Beware the tasting room...I left with a very rumbly tummy from trying too many beverages from around the world! I would like to know from Coke why the caffeine free Coke Classic doesn't taste the same as Coke Classic...it should, right?

I had to swipe a quote from you today. The part about choosing to live positively. I have a 3 yr old, a 1yr old and one due in Sept. I may need to tattoo your quote on my forehead. Until I save the $ up to do so, I'll just copy and paste the quote on my FB status...I also gave you credit for it. Maybe you will have a few more followers after sharing such sage advice :)

If Coke is such a family-oriented company, then why don't they have grants or easy to obtain loans set up for couples who can't have children of their own to help cover the astronomical cost of adoption? Or other such programs? I would love nothing more than to share my love of Diet Coke with a son/daughter, but the $35,000 must-pay-upfront price tag is making that impossible. I'm 30 and have been trying to figure out how to make that number feasible for 5 years now. Company sponsorship could really help and would be great press.

Or they could have attainable scholarships for those groups who usually aren't included, such as returning students. I know the Coca-Cola company brings in millions of dollars in profits. Why not share it with the families who love it in unique ways? I've always wondered this about big companies. These may not be the questions you're wanting, but I thought I'd take a chance and speak my mind for once.

Soda is one of the major contributors to the childhood obesity epidemic. Ask them about that. Also, please enforce the idea that, the truth is, the most conscientious mothers really should not let their children near the stuff! Ask them about that. Please, please don't sell yourself out to Coke! That would make me so sad.

I love your view on choosing happiness and I too try to always find the humor in the not so funny situations. Sometimes when I do this my kids look at me funny and ask why I'm laughing... I tell them because if I don't laugh I'll cry.

Thanks for always giving me a good laugh and something to look forward too... I check your blog everyday!! :-D